CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The lawyer for a New Hampshire man convicted of raping a 15-year-old member of his fundamentalist Baptist church congregation will argue for a new trial, saying statements he made to his pastor should not have been used against him at trial.

But prosecutors say statements made by 54-year-old Ernest Willis to his pastor were not protected by religious privilege because they involved the sexual abuse of a child.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case Wednesday.

The 2011 trial garnered national attention because her pastor made the girl apologize to the congregation. He then helped ship the pregnant girl to live with a Colorado couple she didn't know and put her baby up for adoption.